Family Overcomes Challenges

Diana Gish/KMXT

Author Kimberly Woodhouse was a guest Tuesday on KMXT’s Talk of the Rock. The former Alaska resident lives a life full of extreme challenges. Because of them, her family received a new home courtesy of the ABC TV show: Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. The home was designed to help the family care for her daughter Kayla who has a very rare nervous disorder.

Kayla’s health problems became apparent at around 14 months but it took two and a half years for doctors to diagnose her rare illness. The condition affects only a few dozen people around the world.

Her disorder is called "Hereditary sensory and autonomic (auto-nomick) neuropathy."

Kayla’s nerves don’t signal her brain properly. As a result, she is at risk of injury and she could actually die if she gets over heated..

— (K. Woodhouse 1 :37 "So for me … be all right.")

Woodhouse’s first book was a work of non-fiction called;" Welcome home! Our Family’s Journey to extreme Joy." The first chapter is titled, "If something’s going to happen, it’s going to happen to Kim." She explained that this is a phrase her husband uses to describe all of the mishaps that seem to follow her. She says she likes to refer to them as "adventures."

— (K.Woodhouse 2 :49 "Every time something …people thru them.")

Woodhouse’s next literary undertaking is a series of suspense novels that she is co-authoring with her now 12 year-old daughter Kayla. The three part series is set in Alaska and draws from their own experience.

— (K.Woodhouse 3 :47 "I was able …words before.")

Kayla, who is homeschooled at the Woodhouse’s climate-controlled home in Colorado Springs, also appeared on Talk of The Rock. When the book she’s writing with her mother is published, she’ll be the youngest published author of a full-length novel. She talked about what that distinction means to her.

— (K.Woodhouse 4 :28 "Its very cool … I love books.."

KMXT’s Talk of the Rock Segment featuring the Woodhouse mother-daughter writing duo, can be found elsewhere on our website.

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